TWI750484B - A segmented capacitive sensor, and related systems, methods and devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are segmented sensors and related systems, methods, and devices. In one embodiment, a capacitive sensor includes a first gird of sensor lines, a second grid of sensor lines, and an isolating region defined between the first grid of sensor lines and the second grid of sensor lines. Also disclosed are touch controllers configured for operable coupling to, and detecting touches at, a segmented sensor, and related systems, methods, and devices. In one embodiment, connectors of a touch controllers are configured for operable coupling to sensing lines from different segments of a segmented sensor and touch controllers are configured to detect touches at the different segments.

Description

Segmented capacitive sensor and related systems, methods and devices [Priority Request]

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of US Provisional Patent Application Ser. Benefit of the filing date of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16/216,412, filed Dec. 11, 2010 for "Segmented Capacitive Sensors and Related Systems, Methods, and Apparatuses," which is hereby incorporated by reference The content and disclosure of each patent application is incorporated herein in its entirety.

The present invention generally relates to capacitive sensors, and more particularly, some embodiments relate to segmented sensors and capacitive sensing systems configured to use segmented sensors.

A touch screen sensor can be depicted as a transparent conductive layer on a display that can detect touch (eg, smartphone, tablet, device interface, etc.) A column/row grid of conductors (ie, electrically isolated lines of conductive material). Typically, these conductors may be referred to as sensor wires, and may also be described as sensing wires. Each sensor may include connectors on each axis where the column and row lines terminate. Such connectors are externally accessible (eg, by pins) and may, for example, be operably coupled to a touch controller including a capture A fetch circuit and a processing circuit are configured to determine information about a touch detected at the touch screen sensor.

1A is a diagram of a conventional coupling between a touch screen sensor and a controller known to the inventors of the present invention. The touch sensor 100 has approximately 5 row lines (represented by column pins 102 and row pins 104 ) for every 4 column lines or has an aspect ratio of 5:4 when the lines are arranged at equal intervals , which means that the width of the sensor 100 is approximately the same as the height of the sensor. This may also be depicted as having a "standard aspect ratio" or configured for "standard aspect ratio" applications, such as a standard aspect ratio display or touchpad. Another ratio commonly associated with standard aspect ratios is 4 lines per 3 columns or 4:3.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of another conventional coupling between a touch screen sensor and a controller known to the inventors of the present invention. The touch screen sensor 110 has more row lines than column lines (as shown by pins 114 and 112, respectively), or the ratio of row lines to column lines is 5:1, when the lines are equally spaced When configured, this means that the width of the sensor 110 is longer than the height of the sensor. This may also be depicted as having a "wide aspect ratio" or configured for "wide aspect ratio" applications, eg, wide aspect ratio displays. In the present invention, a touch screen sensor with a long-axis to short-axis ratio of about 2:1 and greater is considered to have a wide aspect ratio, which is commonly understood by those skilled in the art.

The touch throughput of a touch screen depends to a large extent on the area of the touch screen. Thus, by way of non-limiting example, the touch throughput for a touch on a 24x30 sensor is approximately the same as for a touch on a 12x60 sensor. However, the 24x30 sensor has fewer connectors (about 54) than the 12x60 sensor (about 72), even though both have an area of 720 (obviously, "area" can be further depicted as the number of nodes defined by the intersections of the sensor lines). Therefore, although the 24×30 sensor 100 of FIG. 1A and the 12×60 sensor 110 of FIG. 1B use approximately the same touch throughput for touch, the touch control for the 12×60 sensor 110 The controller 116 requires more pins than the touch controller 130 for the 30x24 sensor 100 (about 18 more pins). Unless otherwise stated, when the dimensions of the sensors are described herein, the conventional column x row is used for ease of description.

In general, when comparing touch controllers with different pin counts, a touch controller with more pins will be larger and require a larger die than a touch controller with fewer pins - and will have correspondingly higher costs. Thus, for the same amount of touch throughput, a conventional touch controller used with a wide aspect ratio sensor in a capacitive touch sensing system is more than the standard aspect ratio in a capacitive touch sensing system Touch controllers used with sensors are more expensive.

The inventors of the present invention understand that there is a need for a capacitive touch sensor suitable for wide aspect ratio applications that has fewer connectors and less processing than conventional capacitive touch sensors used for such applications ability. One advantage of such a sensor is that the touch controller requires fewer pins to couple with the sensor, thus, compared to traditional capacitive touch sensing systems using more expensive touch controllers, using Capacitive touch sensing systems for wide aspect ratio applications can be simpler and include less expensive components.

A capacitive sensing system includes: a segmented sensor including multiple columns and rows of sensing lines; and one or more touch controllers operably coupled to the segmented sensor a detector, wherein one of the one or more touch controllers includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: the rows of sensing lines are operably independently coupled connected to the first set of connectors; and the multiple At least some of the column sense lines are operably coupled in parallel to the second set of connectors. Some connectors of the first set of connectors are associated with a first section of the segmented sensor, and other connectors of the first set of connectors are associated with a first section of the segmented sensor The second segment is associated. Some of the connectors of the second set of connectors are associated with the first section of the segmented sensor and are associated with the second section of the segmented sensor. The first section includes a first plurality of sensing lines of the plurality of columns of sensing lines of the segmented sensor; and the second section includes a second of the plurality of sensing lines of the segmented sensor A plurality of columns of sense lines, and wherein the first plurality of columns of sense lines are electrically isolated from the second plurality of columns of sense lines.

One of the one or more touch controllers includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: the plurality of columns of sense lines are operably independently coupled to the first set of connectors a set of connectors; and at least some of the rows of sense lines are operably coupled in parallel to the second set of connectors, wherein the columns of sense lines and the rows of sense lines are discontinuously coupled to a touch controller.

The system is configured for mutual capacitance sensing.

The system is configured for self-capacitance sensing.

A capacitive sensor includes: a first grid of sensor lines; a second grid of sensor lines; and an isolation region defined between the first grid of sensor lines and the between the sensor lines of the second grid. At least a portion of the isolation region defines an air gap. At least a portion of the isolation region includes an electrically insulating material.

The capacitive sensor further includes: a first connector operably coupled to one or more sensor lines of the first grid; and a second connector operably coupled to the first grid One or more sensor lines of two grids. The sensor lines of the first grid include a first plurality of columns of sensor lines and a first plurality of rows of sensor lines, and the sensor lines of the second grid include a second plurality of columns of sensor lines and A second multi-row sensor line. at least the The first multi-column sensor lines are electrically isolated from the second multi-column sensor lines.

A touch controller comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory storage medium having machine-readable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, are machine-readable The instruction fetch is adapted to enable the processor to: determine touch position information in response to one or more sense signals, wherein the touch position information corresponds to a position at a segmented sensor. When executed by the processor, the machine-readable instructions are further adapted to enable the processor to distinguish between a first sense signal associated with a first segment of the segmented sensor and a first sense signal associated with the segment A second sensing signal associated with a second segment of the segment sensor. The touch controller further includes connectors, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to enable the processor to associate a first set of the connectors with the segmented sensing A first section of the connector is associated and a second set of the connectors is associated with a second section of the segmented sensor. The machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to connect some of the connectors of the first set of connectors with the first section and the segmented sensor The second segment is associated. The machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to associate one of the one or more sense signals with a first region of the segmented sensor The segment or a second segment of the segmented sensor is associated in response to a connector assignment for a connector configured to be operably coupled individually to the A sensing line of the first segment or the second segment. The machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to associate one of the one or more sense signals with a first region of the segmented sensor The segment or a second segment of the segmented sensor is associated in response to a connector assignment, wherein the connector assignment is for a connector configured to be operably coupled in parallel A sensing line connected to the first section and a sensing line of the second section. The machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to alter the touch position information in response to the segmented sensor associated with the one or more sense signals a section of . Changing the touch position information includes: determining a section of the segmented sensor associated with the touch position information; determining an offset in response to the section; and determining an adjustment touch position to Returns the offset that should be determined.

The touch controller includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: the first set of connectors is configured to be operably coupled to a plurality of rows of sense lines; and the second set of connectors is configured are operably coupled in parallel to at least some of the columns of sense lines. The machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to: identify a first segment of the segmented sensor associated with a first sense signal, in response to a first connector assignment associated with a first connector; and identifying a second segment of the segmented sensor associated with a second sense signal in response to a second connector Associated with a second connector assignment, wherein the first connector and the second connector are configured in a continuous manner, and the first section and the second section are different for the segmented sensor section.

100: Touch Sensor

102: Column pins

104: row pin

110: Touch screen sensor

112: pin

114: pin

116: Touch Controller

130: Touch Controller

200: Segmented sensor

202: Left Section

204: Right Section

206: Quarantine area

208: Edge

210: Edge

212: Edge

214: Edge

216: Long axis connector

218: Stub shaft connector

220: Long axis connector

222: Stub shaft connector

300: Capacitive Sensing System

302: Segmented sensor

304: Left segment

306: Right Section

308: Connector

310: Stub shaft connector

312: Connector

314: Stub shaft connector

330: Touch Controller

332: Connector

334: Connector

336: Connector

340: Sensor Wire Grid

342: Long Axis Sensor Line

344: Short Axis Sensor Line

346: Left Section

348: Right Section

350: invalid area

352: Location

500: Touch Controller

502: Peripheral interface

504: I/O driver

506: Touch Processor

While this disclosure concludes with claims specifically pointing out and expressly claiming particular embodiments, the various features and advantages of embodiments within the scope of this disclosure can be more readily ascertained from the following: FIG. 1A shows a touch screen sensor Simplified block diagram of conventional coupling to a touch controller.

FIG. 1B shows another simplified block diagram of the conventional coupling between the touch screen sensor and the controller.

2 shows a simplified block diagram of a segmented capacitive sensor architecture in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention.

3A shows a simplified block diagram of a capacitive sensing system utilizing segmented capacitive sensors in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention.

3B shows an example touch at a segmented capacitive sensor (represented as a grid) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

4A shows a flowchart of a touch processing process for a segmented sensor according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

4B shows a flowchart of a touch processing process for a segmented sensor according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

5 shows a functional block diagram of a touch controller configured for use with a segmented sensor in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These specific examples are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. However, other specific examples may be utilized, and structural, material, and procedural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The illustrations presented herein are not intended to be actual views of any particular method, system, apparatus, or structure, but are merely idealized representations of embodiments used to describe the present invention. The drawings presented herein are not necessarily drawn to scale. For the convenience of the reader, similar structures or components in the various figures may retain the same or similar numbering; however, similarity in numbering does not imply that the structures or components must be identical in size, composition, configuration, or any other attribute.

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments generally described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings may be configured and designed in a variety of different configurations. Accordingly, the following description of various specific examples is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but merely to represent various specific examples. While various aspects of specific examples may be presented in the drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless otherwise indicated.

The following description may include examples to assist those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the disclosed embodiments. Use of the terms "exemplary," "example-based," and "such as" means that the associated description is illustrative, and while examples and legal equivalents are intended to be included in the scope of the invention, the use of such terms is not intended to be limiting A specific example or scope of the invention resides in a particular component, step, feature, function, etc.

Therefore, the specific embodiments shown and described are examples only and should not be construed as the only way to practice the invention unless otherwise indicated herein. Components, circuits, and functions may be shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Rather, the specific embodiments shown and described are exemplary only and should not be construed as the only way to practice the invention unless otherwise indicated herein. Furthermore, the block definitions and logical divisions between the various blocks are examples of specific implementations. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be implemented with many other partitioning solutions. In most instances, details regarding timing considerations etc. have been omitted, where such details are not necessary to obtain a full understanding of the present invention and are within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols and chips that may be referred to throughout this specification may be represented by voltages, currents, Electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof. For clarity of presentation and description, some figures may show signals as a single signal. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that signals may represent bus signals, where bus bars may have various bit widths, and that the present invention may be implemented on any number of data signals, including a single data signal.

It should be understood that any reference to elements herein using names such as "first," "second," etc. does not limit the quantity or order of those elements unless such limitation is expressly stated. Rather, these names are used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements or several instances of an element. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way. Also, unless stated otherwise, a group of elements may include one or more elements. Likewise, elements sometimes referred to in the singular can also include one or more instances of that element.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable A gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein is implemented or performed. A general-purpose processor (also referred to herein as a main processor or simply a host) may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, eg, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. When a general-purpose computer is configured to execute computational instructions (eg, software code) associated with embodiments of the present invention, it includes A general-purpose computer with a processor is considered a special-purpose computer.

Also, note that specific examples may be described in terms of processes depicted as flowcharts, flow diagrams, block diagrams, or block diagrams. Although a flowchart may describe the acts of operation as a sequential process, many of these acts can be performed in another sequential, parallel, or substantially concurrent fashion. Additionally, the order of these actions can be rearranged. A procedure may correspond to a method, thread, function, procedure, subroutine, subroutine, or the like. Furthermore, the methods disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, software, or both. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another.

As used herein, the terms "substantially" and "about" with respect to a given parameter, property or condition mean and include a certain degree of variation as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art for the given parameter, property or condition , such as within acceptable manufacturing tolerances. For example, a parameter at substantially or about the specified value can be at least about 90% of the specified value, at least about 95% of the specified value, at least about 99% of the specified value, or even at least about 99.9% of the specified value.

As understood for purposes of the embodiments described in this disclosure, a touch screen sensor or just a "sensor" may respond to objects (eg, fingers, styluses, other detectable objects, but not limited to this) ) is in contact with the touch sensitive area of the sensor or an object is in proximity to the touch sensitive area of the sensor. In the present invention, "contact" and "touch" are meant to include physical contact of an object with a touch-sensitive area and the presence of an object near the touch-sensitive area without physical contact. No actual physical contact with the sensor is required.

When an object touches the touch screen sensor, the contact position within the sensor Capacitance changes may occur at or near the location. If the touch meets some threshold or some other criterion, the analog capture front end can "detect" the touch. "charge-then-transfer" is a technique implemented in some touch capture front ends to detect changes in capacitance, thereby charging the sense capacitor (eg, faster or slower) charge) in response to changes in capacitance and transfer charge to the integrating capacitor during multiple charge-transfer cycles. The amount of charge associated with such charge-transfer can be converted to digital signals by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and the digital controller can process those digital signals to determine the measurement and whether an object is touching the sensor.

Self-capacitance sensors are capacitive field sensors that can detect/respond to changes in capacitance to ground. They are usually laid out in an array of columns and rows that can independently respond to a touch. That. As a non-limiting example, a self-capacitance sensor may include a circuit that employs repeated charge and then transfer cycles and uses common integrated CMOS push-pull driver circuits with floating terminals. Mutual capacitance sensors are capacitive field sensors that can detect/respond to changes in capacitance between two electrodes (driving electrodes and sensing electrodes). The pair of drive and sense electrodes at each intersection of the drive and sense lines constitutes a capacitor. Self-capacitance and mutual-capacitance configurations and/or techniques may be used exclusively, and may also be used in the same touch sensor and controller, and may be complementary to each other, eg, self-capacitance may be used to confirm detection using mutual capacitance touch.

For 2-D touch-sensitive surfaces, touch screen sensors can be covered in a 2-dimensional (2-D) configuration, which can be incorporated into a touch-sensitive surface such as a display and can facilitate user interaction with Interaction with related devices. An insulating protective layer (eg, resin, glass, plastic, etc.) can be used to cover the touch sensor. As used herein, a "touch display" includes a touch screen sensor or a display used with an adjacent touch screen sensor (such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), thin film transistor (TFT) LCD or Light Emitting Diode (LED) display).

In the example of a touch screen sensor using a matrix sensor approach of mutual capacitance sensors using charge-transfer technology, the drive electrodes may extend in rows on one side of the substrate, and the sense electrodes may be on the substrate extends in rows on the other side to define a "matrix" array of NxM nodes. Each node corresponds to the intersection between the conductive lines of a drive electrode and a sense electrode. One drive electrode simultaneously drives all nodes in a given column, while one sense electrode senses all nodes in a given row. The capacitive coupling of drive and sense electrodes at a node location (mutual capacitance) or the coupling of sense electrodes to ground (self capacitance) can be measured individually or together in response to changes in capacitance representing a touch event . For example, if a drive signal is applied to the drive electrodes in column 2 and the sense electrodes in row 3 are active, the node location is: (column 2, row 3). Nodes can be scanned by sequencing of different combinations of drive electrodes and sense electrodes. In one mode, the drive electrodes can be driven continuously, while the sense electrodes are monitored completely continuously. In another mode, each sensing electrode may be sampled continuously.

Although the touch screen sensors of the present invention find particular application for displays, they are not limited to touch displays, but may be incorporated into any touch sensitive surface, such as touch pads and touch buttons, but not limited to this; and can be transparent or opaque.

Thus, one or more embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a segmented capacitive sensor (referred to herein as a "segmented sensor"). FIG. 2 shows a segmented sensor 200 that includes two separate segments 202 and 204 . For convenience, and not limitation, these two sections may be referred to as "left section" 202 and "right section" 204. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the respective left section 202 and right section 204 Three of the sides are defined by at least a portion of each of the three edges 208 , 210 , 212 , and 214 of the sensor 200 , and the fourth side is defined by the isolation region 206 . Although the left and right segments 202 and 204 are shown with the same number of nodes in this example, the invention is not so limited and specifically contemplates that in one or more specific examples, multiple segments of a multi-segment sensor may have different number of nodes (eg, some segments may have a different number of nodes than other segments). Furthermore, although the segmented sensor 200 has two segments 202 and 204 in the example shown in FIG. 2, the present invention is not limited to two segments, and those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention Embodiments of the invention can be extended to more than two sections. In fact, it is specifically contemplated that a segmented sensor may include more than two segments.

The isolation region 206 is configured to electrically isolate the left section 202 from the right section 204 . In one or more specific examples, at least a portion of the isolation region 206 may be filled with an insulating material, define an air gap that provides electrical isolation, or a combination thereof. Isolation region 206 generally divides segmented sensor 200 into two equal halves, and each of left section 202 and right section 204 may be depicted as roughly half of segmented sensor 200 . In one or more embodiments, each of the left section 202 and the right section 204 may include an active portion, and optionally an inactive portion, wherein the active portion is typically configured for capacitive sensing sensing device line.

In one or more embodiments, the isolation regions 206 may be formed by cutting a long-axis sensor line (not shown) substantially perpendicular to the direction of the long-axis sensor line. Once cut, the long-axis sensor wire of the left section 202 operates independently of the long-axis sensor wire of the right section 204 . As a non-limiting example, a touch that is entirely at the left section 202 and detected at the left section 202 is not detected at the right section 204 . In other words, responding to a touch at the left section 202 without achieving a measurable correlation at the right section 204 capacitive effect.

Each of the left section 202 and the right section 204 may also include some connectors located along respective first edges and respective second edges of the sections. Left section 202 includes a long axis connector 216 and a short axis connector 218 . The right section 204 includes a long axis connector 220 and a short axis connector 222 . Stub connector 218 and stub connector 222 may be disposed on the side corresponding to the same edge (here edge 212 ) of the segmented sensor. Long-axis connector 216 and long-axis connector 220 may be disposed on sides corresponding to different edges (here edge 210 and edge 214 ) of the segmented sensor, respectively. In one or more embodiments, each of left section 202 and right section 204 of segmented sensor 200 has the same number of connectors. In one or more embodiments, the sensor connectors (eg, connectors 216, 218, 220, and 222) may be conductive pins.

Referring to FIG. 3A , one or more embodiments relate generally to a capacitive sensing system 300 that includes a segmented sensor 302 operably coupled to a touch controller 330 . The connectors of the left section 304 and the right section 306 may be operably coupled to input/output (I/O) connectors of the touch controller 330 . In one or more embodiments, the I/O connector may be, for example, but not limited to, conductive pins, conductive adhesive, or other suitable conductive materials.

Connectors 308 and 312 of the long-axis sensor lines of left section 304 and right section 306 may be operably connected to separate connectors 332 and 334 of touch controller 330, respectively. Some or all of the stub-axis connectors 310 and 314 of the stub-axis sensor wires of the left section 304 and the right section 306 may be operably connected in parallel to the connector 336 of the touch controller 330 . For the stub connectors 310 and 314 of the left section 304 and the right section 306 of the connector 336 operably connected in parallel to the touch controller 330 , at least one stub connector 310 and the right section of the left section 304 At least one stub connection of segment 306 The connector 314 is operably connected to the same connector 336 of the touch controller 330 .

In one or more embodiments, the sensing lines of the sensor are operably coupled to the same connector of the touch controller, which may be referred to herein as "operably coupled in parallel," and they may be A connector at a controller to which it is operatively coupled may be referred to herein as a "parallel connector." One sense line of the sensor operably coupled to one connector of the touch controller and no other sense line operably coupled to the same connector may be referred to herein as "operably independently" coupled to the connector, and the connector at the touch controller may be referred to herein as a "standalone connector."

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the connectors between the sensor wires (major axis and short axis) and the connectors of the touch controller do not require a specific order. For example, continuous sensor lines can be operably coupled to non-contiguous (ie, non-adjacent) connectors of the touch controller, which can also be depicted as "staggered" senses at the touch controller tester cable connection.

One or more embodiments relate generally to a capacitive sensing system that includes one or more touch controllers operably coupled to a segmented sensor. In one embodiment, the processing of sensor signals received from the segmented sensors may be performed by two or more touch controllers. Any suitable technique may be used to distribute processing among touch controllers including, but not limited to, by segmentation, by sensor connectors, by type of touch (eg, single force, multiple force, etc.) and their combinations.

One or more embodiments generally relate to a touch controller configured to distinguish a sensing signal from a left segment from a sensing signal from a right segment, which may be referred to herein as a left sensing signal, respectively and the right sense signal.

FIG. 3B is a diagram with divided parts according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Illustration of Sensor Line Grid 340 of Sensor Lines of Segments In one or more embodiments, the sensor line grid 340 may be configured for wide aspect ratio applications, eg, sensors 302 (FIG. 3A), and includes columns of long-axis sensor lines 342 (columns 1-12) and rows of short-axis sensor lines 344 (rows 1-60). Inactive area 350 divides sensor line grid 340 and defines left section 346 and right section 348 of sensor line grid 340 . For illustration, the capacitance change at location 352 of the right segment 348 is shown, which is associated with a touch event.

In one specific example, touch controller 330 ( FIG. 3A ) may include a touch processor (not shown) configured to distinguish left and right sense signals at the parallel connectors of touch controller 330 signal in response to one or more drive signals used in mutual capacitance sensing techniques. More specifically, when the touch processor receives the sensing signal, the touch processor may be configured to determine whether the sensing signal corresponds to the left segment drive signal or the right segment drive signal. In a specific example, if the sensing signal is received during the first sensing period of the mutual capacitance sensing operation, the touch processor may determine that the sensing signal corresponds to the left segment drive signal, and if the mutual capacitance sensing When the sensing signal is received during the second sensing period of operation, it is determined that the sensing signal corresponds to the right segment drive signal. More specifically, the mutual capacitance sensing operation may occur during a sensing interval, and the sensing interval may include a first sensing period and a second sensing period. The first sensing period may be associated with one of the left segment or the right segment, and the second sensing period may be associated with the other segment. A sensing interval may be associated with a sensing operation.

In another specific example, the sensing interval may include a number of sensing periods, some sensing periods being associated with one segment and other sensing periods being associated with another segment. The sensing periods associated with a segment may or may not be contiguous, eg, assuming a sensing interval has four sensing periods (P1-P4), where each segment One of the four sets of sense lines for is associated with each sensing period, eg, P1 (L1 and R4), P2 (L2 and R3), P3 (L3 and R2), and P4 (L4 and R1). Also, it is assumed that multiple sets of sensing lines of each segment are operably coupled in parallel to the touch controller (eg, L1 and R1 are operably coupled in parallel, L2 and R2 are operably coupled in parallel, but not limited to this). Multiple sets of sensing lines can be sensed simultaneously and nearly simultaneously during each sensing period. That is, L1 and R4 can be sensed simultaneously, L2 and R3 can be sensed simultaneously, and so on. In this configuration, the touch processor can distinguish left and right segments according to the sensing period and the connectors associated with the sets of sensing lines.

In one or more embodiments, the sensing interval and sensing period can be measured using any suitable technique, including as a function of time, drive lines (eg, first driven drive line to last driven drive line) , the number of operations, but not limited to this.

4A shows a flowchart of a touch processing process 400 for a segmented sensor in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. In operation 402, one or more sensing signals associated with a parallel coupled connector of the touch controller are received. In operation 404, the timing information of the sensing signal is compared to one or more periods of the sensing operation. The time period may be associated with a drive signal asserted at the touch sensor. In operation 406, a sensor segment is identified in response to the comparison. The sensor segment may be one of a left segment and a right segment. In operation 408, a sensor location is determined in response to the identified sensor segment and in response to a segment location identified by the sensing signal. In another embodiment, a sensor location can be determined in response to the identified sensor segment and the sensed signal.

The use of the terms "drive line" and/or "sense line" in this disclosure is not intended to require a particular technique for capacitive sensing unless otherwise specified, For example, self-capacitance or mutual capacitance.

This is not required, although in some instances a drive or sense line is associated with a long axis and a short axis. The drive wires can be associated with the short axis and the sense wires can be associated with the long axis.

In another embodiment, the touch controller includes a touch processor (not shown) configured to distinguish left sensing signals from right sensing signals in response to sensing signals received during self-capacitance sensing operations . During self-capacitance sensing, the touch processor typically receives sensing signals from one or more long-axis sensor lines and one or more short-axis sensor lines. The touch processor may be configured to determine whether the sense signal corresponds to a left segment or a right segment in response to a sense signal received from a short-axis sensor line. More specifically, the touch processor may be configured to determine that a sense signal is received at one or more pins associated with one or more long-axis sensor lines.

4B shows a flowchart of a touch processing process 410 for a segmented sensor in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. In operation 412, a sensing signal associated with the parallel coupled connector of the touch controller is received. In operation 414, connector assignment information is determined in response to the received sensing signal. In one embodiment, the connector assignment information may identify the connector of the controller operably coupled to the connector of the sensor segment (and thus the sense line). Any suitable level of detail may be used, for example, connector assignment information may describe coupling at a connector/sense level and/or a connector/segment level. For example, the connector assignment information may associate one or more connectors of the touch controller with the first segment, the second segment, or both segments (eg, if connected in parallel).

In operation 416, a segment is identified in response to the determined connector assignment information. In one embodiment, a segment may be identified in response to a query A lookup table that searches for connector assignment information and returns a segment identifier in response to the searched connector assignment information. In operation 418, a sensor location is determined in response to the identified segment and the sensed signal. In one embodiment, a segment location can be identified in response to the sensing signal, and a sensor location can be identified in response to the identified segment and the identified segment location.

Depending on the configuration of the touch processor, the positional information of the touch can be determined for either the left segment or the right segment, but as a whole requires further processing to adjust the determined location of the segmented sensor. For example, if a touch is identified at location 352 (FIG. 3A), which corresponds to the center of right section 348, but due to the parallel connection at some of the touch controller's connectors, the touch processor may Not "knowing" that the location is actually in the right third of the sensor, rather than in the center of the right section 348 . In one or more specific examples, the position may be corrected when the position is first determined according to the segment where the touch occurs and the sensing signal. For example, if a sensing signal is received that may correspond to column 10, row 25 or column 10, row 55 of the segmented sensor, the touch processor may determine the row after determining the segment. In one or more other embodiments, the touch processor may include one or more position offsets that represent a position on the segmented touch sensor and a left or right segment of the touch sensor difference between a position on the . The touch processor may be configured to determine a segmented sensor location in response to a segment location and offset associated with that area location.

FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of a touch controller 500 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. In a specific example, the touch controller 500 may include a touch processor 506 , an I/O driver 504 and a peripheral interface 502 . The touch processor 506 may be configured to perform one or more aspects of a sensing operation, including processing sense signals (and in some cases, drive signals) and determining touch information (including, but not limited to, touch related information) connected sensors and segment positions. I/O driver 504 may be configured to control one or more connectors of touch controller 500, including but not limited to general purpose input and output pins. Connectors may be configured to operate coupled to the capacitive sensor line. peripheral interface 502 or may be configured for use to communicate through the data bus (e.g., UART, USART, I ² C, etc.).

Many of the functional descriptions in this specification may be described, described, or labeled as modules, threads, steps, or other code segregations (including firmware) of code to more specifically emphasize their implementation independence. A module may be implemented at least in part in one form or another form of hardware. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit that includes custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors, such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. Modules may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices (eg, field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, etc.).

Modules may also be implemented using software or firmware, stored in physical storage devices (eg, computer-readable media), memory (eg, non-transitory storage devices used as system memory), or a combination thereof, to Executed by various types of processors.

An identified module of executable code may, for example, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for example, be organized into threads, objects, procedures, or functions. However, the executable instructions of the identified modules need not actually be grouped together, but may include different instructions stored in different locations that, when logically linked together, comprise the modules and implement the modules' described Purpose.

In practice, a module of executable code may be a single instruction or many instructions, and may even be distributed in different programs and over several different code segments across several storage or memory devices. Likewise, arithmetic data can be identified within the module here and descriptions, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. Computational data may be aggregated into a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations, including different storage devices, and may exist, at least in part, solely as electronic signals on a system or network. Where a module or a portion of a module is implemented in software, the software portion is stored on one or more physical devices, which are referred to herein as computer-readable media.

In some embodiments, the software body portion is stored in a non-transitory state, such that the software body portion or its representation persists in the same physical location for a period of time. Additionally, in some embodiments, the software portion is stored on one or more non-transitory storage devices that include hardware elements capable of storing non-transitory states and/or signals representing the software portion, even if the non-transitory storage device's Other examples of non-transitory storage devices capable of changing and/or transmitting signals are flash memory and random access memory (RAM). Another example of a non-transitory storage device includes read only memory (ROM), which can store signals and/or states representing portions of software for a period of time. However, the ability to store signals and/or states is not diminished by the further function of transmitting signals identical to or representing stored signals and/or states. For example, a processor may access ROM to obtain signals representing stored signals and/or states for executing corresponding software instructions.

Any description of a feature as "typical," "traditional," or "known" in this disclosure does not necessarily imply that it is disclosed or understood in the art for the aspect in question. Nor does it necessarily mean that it is well known, well understood or commonly used in the relevant art.

While the invention has been described herein with respect to some of the described embodiments, it will be recognized and understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. The present invention is not limited to this. Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications may be made to the specific examples illustrated and described without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed and its legal equivalents. Furthermore, features from one embodiment may be combined with features of another embodiment while still being included within the scope of the invention contemplated by the inventors.

Additional non-limiting examples of the present invention include:

Example 1: A capacitive sensing system, comprising: a segmented sensor including multiple columns of sensing lines and multiple rows of sensing lines; and one or more touch controllers operably coupled to the Segmented sensor.

Example 2: The system according to Example 1, wherein one of the one or more touch controllers includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: the plurality of rows Sense lines are operably independently coupled to the first set of connectors; and at least some of the plurality of columns of sense lines are operably coupled in parallel to the second set of connectors.

Embodiment 3: The system according to any one of Embodiments 1 and 2, wherein some of the connectors of the first set of connectors are associated with a first segment of the segmented sensor, and the first Other connectors in the set of connectors are associated with a second section of the segmented sensor.

Embodiment 4: The system according to any one of Embodiments 1-3, wherein some of the connectors of the second set of connectors are associated with the first segment of the segmented sensor and with the segment associated with the second segment of the sensor.

Embodiment 5: The system according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 4, wherein: the first segment includes a first plurality of columns of sense lines of the plurality of columns of sense lines of the segmented sensor; and the second A segment includes a second plurality of columns of sense lines of the plurality of columns of sense lines of the segmented sensor, and wherein the first plurality of columns of sense lines are electrically isolated from the second plurality of columns of sense lines Leave.

Embodiment 6: The system according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein one of the one or more touch controllers includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, And wherein: the plurality of rows of sense lines are operably independently coupled to the first set of connectors; and at least some of the plurality of rows of sense lines are operably coupled in parallel to the second set of connectors.

Embodiment 7: The system according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the plurality of columns of sensing lines and the plurality of rows of sensing lines are discontinuously coupled to the touch controller.

Embodiment 8: The system according to any one of Embodiments 1-7, wherein the system is configured for mutual capacitance sensing.

Embodiment 9: The system according to any one of Embodiments 1-8, wherein the system is configured for self-capacitance sensing.

Embodiment 10: A capacitive sensor comprising: a first grid of sensor lines; a second grid of sensor lines; and an isolation region defined in the sense of the first grid between the sensor lines and the sensor lines of the second grid.

Embodiment 11: The capacitive sensor according to Embodiment 10, wherein at least a portion of the isolation region defines an air gap.

Embodiment 12: The capacitive sensor according to any one of Embodiments 10 and 11, wherein at least a portion of the isolation region includes an electrically insulating material.

Embodiment 13: The capacitive sensor according to any one of Embodiments 10 to 12, further comprising: a first connector operably coupled to one or more sensor lines of the first grid; and a second connector operably coupled to one or more sensor lines of the second grid.

Example 14: Capacitance inductance according to any one of Examples 10 to 14 sensor, wherein the sensor lines of the first grid include a first plurality of columns of sensor lines and a first plurality of rows of sensor lines, and the sensor lines of the second grid include a second plurality of columns of sensor lines sensor lines and a second plurality of rows of sensor lines.

Embodiment 15: The capacitive sensor according to any one of Embodiments 10 to 14, wherein at least the first multi-column sensor lines are electrically isolated from the second multi-column sensor lines.

Example 16: A touch controller, comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory storage medium having machine-readable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the processor, Machine-readable instructions such as are adapted to enable the processor to: determine touch position information in response to one or more sense signals, wherein the touch position information corresponds to a position at a segmented sensor .

Embodiment 17: The touch controller according to Embodiment 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to distinguish associated with a first segment of the segmented sensor A first sensing signal is associated with a second sensing signal associated with a second segment of the segmented sensor.

Embodiment 18: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16 and 17, further comprising a connector, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to A first set is associated with a first segment of the segmented sensor and a second set of the connectors is associated with a second segment of the segmented sensor.

Embodiment 19: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16-18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to connect some of the first set of connectors A sensor is associated with the first segment and the second segment of the segmented sensor.

Embodiment 20: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16-19, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to enable the one or more sensing signals A sense signal is associated with a first segment of the segmented sensor or a second segment of the segmented sensor in response to a connector assignment for A connector configured to be operably coupled individually to a sense line of the first section or the second section.

Embodiment 21: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16 to 20, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to enable the one or more of the sensing signals A sense signal is associated with a first segment of the segmented sensor or a second segment of the segmented sensor in response to a connector assignment for A connector configured to be operably coupled in parallel to a sense line of the first section and a sense line of the second section.

Embodiment 22: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16 to 21, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to change the touch position information in response to communication with the processor One or more sensed signals are associated with a segment of the segmented sensor.

Embodiment 23: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16 to 22, wherein changing the touch position information comprises: determining the segment of the segmented sensor associated with the touch position information ; determine an offset to respond to the segment; and determine an adjustment touch position to respond to the determined offset.

Embodiment 24: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16 to 23, wherein the touch controller includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: the first set of connections The device is configured to be operably coupled to a plurality of rows of sense lines; to and the second set of connectors configured to be operably coupled in parallel to at least some of the columns of sense lines.

Embodiment 25: The touch controller according to any one of Embodiments 16 to 24, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to: identify associated with a first sensing signal a first segment of the segmented sensor in response to a first connector assignment associated with a first connector; and identifying the segmented sense associated with a second sense signal a second section of the detector in response to a second connector assignment associated with a second connector, wherein the first connector and the second connector are configured in a continuous manner, and the first section The segment and the second segment are different segments of the segmented sensor.

200‧‧‧Segmented Sensors

202‧‧‧Left Section

204‧‧‧Right Section

206‧‧‧Isolation area

208‧‧‧Edge

210‧‧‧Edge

212‧‧‧Edge

214‧‧‧Edge

216‧‧‧Long axis connector

218‧‧‧Stub shaft connector

220‧‧‧Long axis connector

222‧‧‧Stub shaft connector

Claims (21)

A capacitive sensing system includes: a segmented sensor including multiple columns of sensing lines and multiple rows of sensing lines; and one or more touch controllers operably coupled to the segmented sensor , and one of the one or more touch controllers includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: at least some drive lines of the plurality of rows or columns of sensing lines are operably independently coupled to the first set of connectors; and at least some of the plurality of columns or rows of sense lines are operably coupled in parallel to the second set of connectors. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of columns of sensing lines and the plurality of rows of sensing lines are continuously coupled to a touch controller. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured for mutual capacitance sensing. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured for self-capacitance sensing. A capacitive sensing system includes: a segmented sensor including multiple columns and rows of sensing lines; and one or more touch controllers operably coupled to the segmented sensor a sensor, and one of the one or more touch controllers includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: the rows or columns of sensing lines are operable independently coupled to the first set of connectors, and at least some other of the multi-column or multi-row sense lines are operably coupled in parallel to the second set of connectors; wherein one of the first set of connectors A first of some connectors and the segmented sensor a segment is associated with other connectors of the first set of connectors are associated with a second segment of the segmented sensor; and wherein some of the connectors of the second set are associated with The first segment of the segmented sensor is associated with the second segment of the segmented sensor. The system of claim 5, wherein the first section includes a first plurality of columns of sense lines of the plurality of columns of sense lines of the segmented sensor, and the second section includes the segmented sensor and wherein the first plurality of columns of sense lines are electrically isolated from the second plurality of columns of sense lines. A capacitive sensor, comprising: a first grid of sensor lines, including a first multi-column sensor line and a first multi-row sensor line; a second grid of sensor lines, including a second plurality of columns of sensor lines and a second plurality of rows of sensor lines; an isolation region defined between the sensor lines of the first grid and the sensor lines of the second grid; and one or more touch controllers operably coupled to the sensor lines of the first grid and the sensor lines of the second grid, and one of the one or more touch controllers A touch controller includes: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors, and wherein: one of the rows or columns of sensor lines of the first grid and the second grid is operatively independently coupled to the first set of connectors, and at least some other of the multi-column or multi-row senses of the first grid and the second grid A probe wire is operably coupled in parallel to the second set of connectors. The capacitive sensor of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the isolation region defines an air gap. The capacitive sensor of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the isolation region includes an electrically insulating material. The capacitive sensor of claim 7, further comprising: a first connector operatively coupled to one or more sensor lines of the first grid; and a second connector operative Ground coupled to one or more sensor lines of the second grid. The capacitive sensor of claim 7, wherein at least the first plurality of columns of sensor lines are electrically isolated from the second plurality of columns of sensor lines. A touch controller comprising: a first set of connectors and a second set of connectors; a processor; and a non-transitory storage medium having machine-readable instructions stored thereon , when executed by the processor, the machine-readable instructions are adapted to enable the processor to: determine touch location information, in response to one or more sensing signals, wherein, in the following situations, the touch location The information corresponds to a location at a segmented sensor, ie, when rows or columns of sensor lines of the segmented sensor are operably independently coupled to the first set of connectors , and when at least some columns or rows of sensor lines of the segmented sensor associated with at least some of the one or more sense signals are operably coupled in parallel to the second when grouping connectors. The touch controller of claim 12, wherein, when executed by the processor, the machine-readable instructions are further adapted to enable the processor to distinguish from a first segment of the segmented sensor An associated first sense signal and a second sense signal associated with a second segment of the segmented sensor. The touch controller of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of connectors, and wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to enable the first set of A first portion of the connector is associated with a first segment of the segmented sensor, and a second portion of the first set of connectors is associated with a second segment of the segmented sensor Associated. The touch controller of claim 14, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to associate some of the connectors of the second set of connectors with the segment The first section and the second section of the type sensor are associated. The touch controller of claim 12, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to associate one of the one or more sense signals with the one of the one or more sense signals. A first segment of the segmented sensor or a second segment of the segmented sensor is associated in response to a connector assignment, wherein the connector assignment is for a connector, the The connector is configured to be operably coupled individually to a sense line of the first section or the second section. The touch controller of claim 12, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to associate one of the one or more sense signals with the one of the one or more sense signals. A first segment of the segmented sensor or a second segment of the segmented sensor is associated in response to a connector assignment, wherein the connection The connector distribution is for a connector configured to be operably coupled in parallel to a sense line of the first section and a sense line of the second section. The touch controller of claim 12, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to alter the touch position information in response to contact with the one or more sensors A segment of the segmented sensor to which the test signal is associated. The touch controller of claim 18, wherein changing the touch position information comprises: determining a segment of the segmented sensor associated with the touch position information; determining an offset in response to the touch position information segment; and determine an adjustment touch position in response to the determined offset. The touch controller of claim 12, wherein the first set of connectors is configured to be operably coupled to a plurality of rows of sense lines; and the second set of connectors are configured to be operably coupled in parallel to at least some of the The sense lines of the column. The touch controller of claim 12, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, are further adapted to enable the processor to: identify the segmented type associated with a first sense signal a first segment of the sensor in response to a first connector assignment associated with a first connector; and identifying a first portion of the segmented sensor associated with a second sense signal Two sections, in response to a second connector assignment associated with a second connector, wherein the first connector and the second connector are arranged in a continuous manner, and the first section and the second Sections are different sections of the segmented sensor.

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